White
by maverick-sama
Summary: A college student by the name of Kagura discovers a twenty year old letter to a mysterious gentleman living in a quiet estate painted white. Rated M for language.
1. Undelivered

A/N: Okay, this is kind of a "blah" type of story meant to poison your mind with dead fluff and stuff. Enjoy.

Nothing interesting ever happens to people… unless you're lucky. It's just plain, dumb luck.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**Undelivered**

"Kagura!"

Her cold fingers paused on the keys of her laptop. Her crimson eyes glared in the direction of the offending voice that dared to disturbed her peace.

A fairly tall young man stood a few feet away from where she was perched on a low tree branch. He wore an annoying smirk that she would have loved to be removed if not for the fact she'd had that feeling for over two years.

Dare she say she had gotten used to it? She could only hope the idiot hadn't rubbed off on her.

His high ponytail blew in the chilled breeze and he was wearing a thick winter jacket and heavy boots to protect himself from the snow.

"What do _you_ want?"

"Nice day isn't it, Kagura?" he said with a goofy smile, "Let me help you from that tree."

He wanted something. She was betting every hair on that thick head of his on it.

Too bad… she didn't feel like being generous today… it was too cold…

"Kouga," she addressed him casually, "what _now_?"

"Well, I was hoping that you could do me a little favor this week," he said, avoiding her piercing glare, "If you're not to busy, that is…"

She turned her back to him.

"No."

"C'mon, Kagura!"

"No."

"You haven't even asked what it was!"

"No, I haven't."

"Please," he pleaded to her back, "We've been friends for two years, can't you just do this little think for me?"

Kagura sighed, "Fine."

Trust _him_, to use their "friendship" as an excuse.

"Can you cover for me at the post office while I'm gone for the week?" He really hoped she wasn't as cold and heartless as she made out to be.

"Why?" came her dry reply.

"Well, my fiancé wants me to meet her parents up north, so I need someone to cover for me."

"Can't someone else do it?"

"It's Christmas vacation," Kouga said, kicking a rock, "Everyone else is going home or on vacation."

"I see…" she drawled, "So what do _I_ get?"

"This month's paycheck."

It seemed reasonable. She wasn't going anywhere this year. Hell, she didn't go anywhere, _ever_. Besides, she was unemployed and in serious need of rent.

"Sure, whatever," she said, waving him off and turning back to her laptop.

"Thanks Kagura, I knew I could count on a friend like you!"

"We aren't friends," she replied.

Kouga hadn't heard her. He was already walking in the direction he came from. An ID and a roll of cash lay in the snow.

And to think the dumb guy actually got himself engaged…

Kagura leaned back against the trunk of the tree and resumed her typing.

* * *

The place was almost deserted. It was so quiet… it gave her the creeps. 

"Err…excuse me, Miss?"

The lady at the desk lifted her head. Her bangs parted to reveal a pair of bright red eyes, almost as bright as the thin red hair band she wore.

It surprised Kagura. Not many people had red eyes aside from herself.

"Oh!" The young woman sat up in her chair, "I'm sorry, what can I do for you?"

"Yeah, well I'm filling in for Yamamoto Kouga for the week," Kagura said, biting her lip, "He's out for the holiday."

"Great! I could use a little of my kind for company!" she exclaimed and got out of her chair.

Kagura didn't quite understand the last part but mentally waved it off.

…My kind?

"Wait, no one else works this shift!"

"Are you kidding!" the young woman said, throwing her arms up in the air, "Those lazy bastards all took the week off!"

"Eh?"

"Oh, sorry," the woman's red lips smiled apologetically as she held out her hand, "The name's Yura. Yoshida Yura."

Kagura took the other girl's hand, "Hitomi Kagura. Pleased to meet you."

* * *

The two young women sorted through a large bag of letters in the dimly lit office. Kagura felt strange sitting there with Yura. No one had yet to pay them a visit since noon. 

The dimly lit post office was chilled and the heaters were broken.

She shivered involuntarily, before looking back at the front door.

_Still no visitors… _

"Hey, Yura…" Kagura began, "How come there are so few people? Isn't it Christmas?"

"Dunno," the other girl answered while reading the address of a thick package, "There's only a handful of people who use this place."

"…Why?"

Yura sighed, "There's a new post office down a few blocks from here. They bought this place a while ago, but they haven't done anything with it for so long, you'd think they forgot about us."

"Hmm…"

Yura sighed heavily again, then turned over the heavy box in her hands. She frowned and checked it over once more.

"Shoot," she scowled, "This doesn't have enough stamps."

She dropped the heavy package unceremoniously onto the desk, creating a loud, echoing thump.

It read _fragile_ on the side of the box.

The other girl stood from her seat and stretched, rubbing the soreness from her neck, before making her way over to the stamp machine in the corner.

Yura took out a pair of keys and unlocked it, grabbing a large role of stamps from the machine.

"Yura…" Kagura said looking confused, "What are you doing?"

"Hmm? Oh, just getting stamps," she replied.

"Can we do that?" _You're stealing stamps, Yura…_

"Hey. It's Christmas, why not? A few good deeds would be appreciated," Yura shrugged, "Besides… then we can make the post office down the block **pay** for more stamps."

She winked and tossed the roll onto the messy desk.

Yura obviously wasn't too concerned about the people getting the un-mailed letters. She just wanted to piss off a few people for stealing stamps.

_Good intentions indeed…

* * *

_

It was getting late.

Kagura looked over to the young woman sitting across from her.

She was a _machine_.

Yura hadn't taken a single break during their eight hour shift in this almost deserted post office.

One of Yura's hands was passing letters in front of her, while the other had stamps stuck on the fingers. She slapped a generous amount of stolen stamps onto each letter that was passed in front of her, while Kagura sorted them into several different piles.

Kagura looked at the clock again.

It was almost half past six.

Sighing, she stood up and stretched, her wrist knocking over the jar of pens that was sitting on the desk. The contents of the container spilled over stacks of envelopes and some onto the floor. One pen rolled underneath a dusty cupboard.

"I'll get that," she growled at her clumsiness.

Kagura bent down and picked up the pens that fell onto the floor and set them back on the desk. Then she crawled over and peered under the cupboard for the remaining one.

It was all black. She couldn't see anything under the tiny space of the cupboard.

"Hey Yura?"

"What?" came her companion's reply.

"Do you have a flashlight?"

"Just leave it, Kagura. It's only one lousy pen," Yura waved off.

Kagura's cheek touched the cold surface of the tiled floor as she peered through the small opening. Nope. Still couldn't see a thing.

"I dunno, it looked pretty expensive," she said, "I can't see a thing."

"Then stick your hand through and grab it," Yura said before coming behind Kagura and squatting down next to her.

"Ew, no! There could be spiders. I hate spiders!" Kagura stuck out her tongue.

Yura sighed and grabbed a yard stick sitting that the edge of the desk. She handed it to Kagura and folded her arms.

"Ha! I got it!" Kagura exclaimed as she felt the yard stick touch an object.

She slid it out, pressing down on the object and bringing it to their view.

But it _wasn't_ the pen.

It was an envelope. An old, yellow envelope.

Pen forgotten, Kagura turned the envelope over in her hands. It was covered in dust, making Kagura cough.

"Looks like this has been here for a while, huh?" she said, dusting it off.

"Yeah," Yura agreed, having successfully dug out the pen, which was indeed from the boss's desk, "Open it!"

"No!"

"Why not? It's been there long enough and no one seems to miss it," Yura pointed out, "Now open it!"

Kagura stared down at the envelope. It never got to the person it was sent to. Turning it over, she read the faded old writing on the back. There was no return address, merely a name and destination scribbled with great haste in black ink.

She read the name.

"Haku."

* * *

End Chapter... wheeeee...

reposting due to editing. wheeeeeeeeee is correct!


	2. Unread

A/N: Wheee... since people have been asking so very nicely to update, I'll be kind enough to post another chapter.

This one's shorter. Sorry.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Unread**

"May the twenty-first… 1984."

Kagura sipped her tea as she read over the contents of the letter she found just hours before at the post office. It was now close to midnight.

After opening the letter, she noticed two things. One, it was written with a brush, and two, the seal at the bottom was in blood, which had browned from age.

_Ew._

Setting down her empty mug, she read over the date once more.

'_That's about twenty years ago,'_ she thought, _'…around the same time **I** was born.'_

Same year… same month.

"This letter… it must go back a long way," she said to herself aloud. _Twenty years…_

_Even then… even then I wasn't free…_

* * *

"Hey, witch!" 

A little girl with black hair looked over her shoulder from where she sat on the grassy hill. A sharp pebble grazed her cheek, and a small trail of blood rain down her pale skin.

The boys sprinted to the bottom of the hill, each one laughing and chanting, "We killed the demon!" or, "The witch is dead!"

She touched the small cut on her face, and winced as she felt the sharp, stinging pain of the wound. She brought her tiny fingers up to her face. It wasn't a big deal. Just a cut.

Just one cut… just one…

A tiny breeze came by and she smiled. At least the wind was comforting.

And then… the wind picked up.

"What is it?" she asked the wind.

"Hahaha! The demon is talking to the wind!" the approaching voices laughed.

The boys walked up the hill to where she sat.

"Kagura! Why are you talking to the wind?" one boy laughed.

"Because she has no friends! She has red eyes! She is a wind witch!" another sneered, "See? Whenever **she's** around, the wind blows really hard!"

"Wind witch! Wind witch!" they all chanted, and pushed her over.

Kagura fell on her shoulder, her hair covering her face

"Stop!" she cried, her eyes shut tight.

The wind picked up… violently.

And then, a boy cried out, his hands flying to his face, his small shoulders trembling. The others gasped and fled, taking the boy with them.

…And all the while…

That boy's face bled…

* * *

Kagura's eye's shot open. 

_A dream… when did I fall asleep?_

Kagura slumped on the table, her forehead touching the wooden surface, and closed her eyes.

_Fucking kid… he deserved it…_

'_Kazetsukai Kagura,'_ she thought, _'That is what they called me.'_

"Should have killed more than just his eye," she laughed humorlessly, as she played with the corner of the paper.

_Paper…ink…blood…_

Kagura lifted her head and stared at the letter sitting in front of her with wide eyes.

_It's still here…_

Sitting up, she slipped it back into the yellow envelope and set it back down on the table. It wasn't any of her business… why should she care?

_Fuck…I don't care._

But then again, a voice in the back of her head was just nagging her read it. _Read it! Read it! Read it…!_

"NO!" she shouted, her fists slamming down on the table.

_Talking to yourself now are you?_

"Ugh. I'm such a freak."

'_Freak! Witch! We don't want you here, Kazetsukai!'_

No. We mustn't think about that.

Kagura stood up, and headed to the bathroom. She turned on the cold water from the sink the splashed her heated face. She stared at the mirror and felt her forehead.

_Fever? No._

Light shone through the window. It was morning. No classes, no work.

Free…

But she wasn't really. Not from people, their faces.

She stepped out of the bathroom and dried her face with the sleeve of her sweater. The clock read half past nine. The sun was peeking through the grey curtain of clouds.

_Nice day. I think I'll go out._

Looking back at the table, the envelope was looking rather tempting.

"Oh, what the hell!"

She slipped the letter out and seated herself back on the chair.

And she read.

_Dear young master,_

_Heaven has bestowed me a gift last week, but I'm afraid our joy is short lived. They are coming. Therefore I shall leave it with you. I trust you will keep it away from harm at all costs. Go to the tower. Keep it safe and don't tell anyone._

Kagura sat there holding the letter.

_Damn… must have sucked, whoever sent this letter._

It never got to the hands of its would-be receiver. Was something lost?

She turned over the envelope and read the address.

**3-2-3 Ginza, Chuo-ku**

**Tokyo 172-490**

"What the hell," she grumbled.

She slid the letter back into the envelope and grabbed her purse.

_If he's still in the house, I'll just deliver it myself._

The door shut behind her.

_I'm sorry, Haku-san. Sorry for being a snoop._

* * *

End chapter. So who's this young master anyway? 


	3. Unsolved

A/N: A have a lot of time on my hands, so I decided to update yet another chapter. Enjoy.

And thank you very much to my reviewers. I love the support.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Unsolved**

The old man was insufferable. She wanted to just wring his neck. But she needed directions. Yes… directions first, killing later.

Kagura, in her search for the address on the envelope, wound up in front of the local shrine of the area, pretty close to where she assumed her destination was located. She didn't event get up the last few steps of the front entrance before an old man wearing priest garbs attacked her.

"Sir- listen! Sir! I'm just trying to find-"

"Get back, youkai! How dare you enter these sacred grounds!" the old man waved what appeared to be a handful of sutras in her face.

"Look, gramps! I'm looking for this house, okay? Can you tell me where this street is?" Kagura pointed at the block number on the yellow envelope while dodging the old man's sticky paper weapons. _I can't believe this…_

"Jii-chan!" called a high-pitched voice from inside the shrine, "Are you bothering visitors again?"

"Kagome! Don't come over! I shall get rid of this youkai pest!"

A young girl, about fifteen, jogged up behind the old man and snatched away his sutras. She had long black hair and was wearing a green school uniform, despite the fact winter vacation already started for most junior high school students.

"Jii-chan, don't go around scaring visitors," the girl named Kagome scolded, "She didn't do anything and you _know_ there are no youkai."

"But-but, her eyes! They are like a devil's!"

_Oh no… not this again…_ Kagura put a hand on her forehead. _Headache._

"Jii-chan! That's rude!" Kagome said pushing him in the other direction, "Go back inside."

The old man grumbled and headed towards the house in the back of the shrine, but not before sending Kagura a vicious glare and pointing an accusing finger.

_Weirdo…_

"I'm so sorry about that."

Kagura turned back to the young girl, who now wore an apologetic grin.

"He seems to think a lot of things are cursed or demonic," she explained, "This wasn't the first time, you know."

"It's alright," Kagura said, waving it off, "but I would like some help finding this house." She held out the envelope for Kagome to read. The girl read it over, then pointed over the shrine steps.

"Block number two should be down there, right?"

"Yeah, but when I looked around that area, the house numbers were completely different," Kagura said, looking back at the address, "House number 3 doesn't exist."

"I see," Kagome responded, "I'll go get Mama. She might know. Mama!"

A woman with a broom poked her head out of one of the shrine buildings and smiled, "Yes, Kagome?"

"Can you help us find this house?"

The woman nodded and set her broom against the wall and removed her apron before coming towards them, "Welcome to the Higurashi shrine." She bowed deeply and gave Kagura a warm smile.

_Ah…mothers._

"Hitomi Kagura. Nice to meet you," she said, bowing back.

"Mama, Kagura-san wants to know how to get to this house," Kagome said. She showed her mother the address on the envelope and explained the situation. Kagome's mother twisted her mouth a little, as if trying to remember something a few years back. The shrine had been here for as long as anyone could remember, and with someone who had lived there for a number of years, Kagura hoped she'd be some help.

_There is no way in **hell** that I'm asking the old man for directions._

"Ah, but block two was burned down a while back, wasn't it?" Kagome's mother said, snapping her fingers.

"What!" Kagura could not believe what she was hearing. All that trouble… and for what?

"You see that park down there?" she said and pointed over to the left to a large area covered in trees. Kagura nodded. "Originally, Block 2 was located where that park area was. About twenty years ago, however, one of the buildings caught fire and the whole section caught flame. They made it a park instead."

_Twenty years…just like the date of the letter!_ Perhaps, that was the reason the letter never got to its destination. The house didn't even exist anymore! Kagura didn't know whether to pat herself on the back or feel disappointed.

_Dead end, Kagura. This letter isn't going anywhere,_ she thought bitterly, looking at her feet. A least she tried.

"However…"

Kagura's head shot up when she heard the older woman continue, "Eh?"

"I was told there was _one_ building that didn't collapse," she said, "Maybe there's a chance that is the one you're looking for, Kagura-san." Kagura's heart leapt with joy, er… relief. There was still hope… yeah.

Maybe this wasn't a wild goose chase after all.

"Thank you. Thank you so much for your help."

* * *

The park was silent, only the sound of the wind accompanied it. Where on earth would a one single house be if its neighbors all burned to the ground. There were houses surrounding the park. It could be any one of them. 

_Or not…_

Kagura sighed and walked over to a swing. She took hold of the chains and sat down, her purse hitting her shin every time she rocked forward. Thinking back, Kagura couldn't recall the last time she'd been to the park. Not since she was a child. All she remembered was that the weather was much like today. Cloudy, cold and with only a little sunlight peeking through the grey sky. The atmosphere was quite the same too.

Sometimes, being the wind witch had its benefits, she guessed. Whenever she wanted to swing, they all took off. She had it all for herself. Kagura smirked when she realized she had a bad habit of dwelling on the past.

The past was the past. It shouldn't matter to her anymore.

She gripped the strap of her purse and then pulled out the yellow envelope. Still smirking, she held it in between her slender fingers.

"You, my friend, have caused me enough trouble as it is," she said. _Great, now I'm talking to paper. Real old, smelly paper._ Kagura had now officially gone insane.

Kagura set her purse and the envelope on the ground, and began to swing. Higher and higher she went, until she could see above the tops of the trees on the outskirts of the silent park. She went higher, just so she could feel the wind when she came back down.

She saw the tip of a white roof beyond those trees. And she went back down then came back up. She saw it again. Backward then forward. She saw a white wall. Backward then forward. A white window this time.

White, white, white. She pitied those living around that house. All that white must have bugged them for ages. Those poor poor neighbors.

_Wait a minute…_

Kagura swung forward on the swing to glimpse over the trees once more. There **were** no neighbors! The house was all by itself.

Kagura hopped off the swing and grabbed her things and ran in the direction of the sidewalk. The only thing separating her from delivering this letter was that fucking stupid wall behind the trees.

White… haku. They meant the same thing! It _had_ to be the one!

She tore down the sidewalk and around the wall, stopping at the corner and then running across the street. An old woman stood on the other side with a basket of herbs under her arm. She made not move to cross.

"Where are you going, child?" the old woman asked. Her voice was soft, yet stern and demanding.

"I, uh…" Kagura didn't know what to say. What could she say? _Yeah, well, I'm delivering this letter I found to some person named 'White' and I have no idea who the fuck he is! _Oh yes. That seemed like a reasonable response. In the end, she pointed her finger in the path up to the white house (A/N: Whitehouse… ahahaha, okay, I'll shut up).

She was about to leave, when the woman spoke once more.

"You mustn't go there!" the old woman yelled.

Kagura stood dumbfounded. _Why the hell not?_ This woman was starting to scare her.

"That place is surrounded by a barrier. No one goes there, for those who have, never return," the old woman warned, "That place is cursed!"

Okay… now this woman was _really_ starting to give her the creeps. By any chance, did she have any relation to the grandpa at the shrine? Kagura wouldn't have been surprised.

"Hey! Who do you think you are anyway?" Kagura demanded, "There is no way I'm giving up after what I've been through just to find this place!"

"My name is Kaede. I am a miko from the local shrine."

"Well, say hi to Jii-chan for me, 'cause I have to go!" Kagura said, before running up the path towards the mysterious house.

* * *

End Chapter. Dun dun duuun... the story is about to unfold! And next, we meet Mr. White. 


	4. Unraveled

A/N: Hurray, I updated.

I'm one of few words, therefore: Read. Enjoy. Farewell.

Much love to reviewers.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Unraveled**

Kagura panted hard as she ran up the steps to the house she'd hoped she had been searching for. Turning her head over her shoulder, she realized that the old woman wasn't following her and slowed down. Why was she in such a hurry to get to this place anyway?

Stopping to catch her breath, she braced her hands on her thighs and breathed hard. Kagura never liked running to places. Hell, exercise had been the last thing on her mind for years.

Wiping the sweat off of her cheek, she started to trudge up the hill. The house was farther than she had expected. Kagura found it hard to believe it was even part of the original block before the fire twenty years ago.

A white gate.

Kagura's pace quickened to a run. Yes, she could see it. The entrance to the white house was just ahead. Not knowing why, a smile spread across her face as the house came into view. Perhaps it was the sense of triumph, or the excitement that swelled her chest, ready to burst. Panting, she ran to the white gates and gripped the bars, for she swore that if she moved one more inch, she would faint.

Pushing on the gates, Kagura gasped in surprise as they creaked open. It wasn't locked.

The grass was neither cut, nor overgrown, which Kagura noticed immediately. Someone took the time to cut the grass just days ago, therefore, someone _had_ to live here. And then, Kagura noticed something else.

What once had been a garden of blossoms and joy was now a decrepit basin of sadness. The trees looked ancient with its pale bark peeling from its trunk and its branches hanging low, as if drooping out of grief. Vines hugged the walls of the house, but they were all dead and bleached.

Basins that would have been spilling blossoms in the spring seemed colder than a grave for years and years.

A marble fountain was beautifully carved and yet seemed eerie and stained with age, with water leaking down the cheeks of a carved smiling child.

Kagura stepped across the pathway and then stopped at the entrance. A large wooden door painted white stood in front of her. The brass handles were shaped of horse heads.

Slipping her hand into her purse, Kagura pulled out the envelope and re-read the address.

_House three…_

"Oh god," Kagura gasped. Yes, she had been right, "What a relief."

She'd been expecting failure and yet here she was, standing in front of the large white house she'd spent hours searching for. The fact that she went in search for it in the first place was still a mystery itself, though Kagura could hardly care right at this moment.

_Mission accomplished._ Kagura felt like she discovered buried treasure.

Hesitating, Kagura stepped forward and rang the doorbell. It sounded like rusting chimes.

She waited for an answer, but nothing happened. So she rang again.

Again, nothing happened.

Kagura raised her hand and then gently knocked the door with the back of her knuckles. _Tap tap tap. _Kagura folded her hands in front of her… and waited.

_Tap tap tap._

Kagura stared at the door. Did she just hear that?

_Tap…tap…tap._

Slower this time, but she heard it. Someone on the other side of the door was knocking back. Not knowing what else to do, Kagura knocked again.

And then… _tap… tap… tap._

Scowling, she knew whoever was on the other side of the door was the type to play mind games.

Without a second thought, Kagura blurted out, "Are you gonna open this door, or do you want play 'knock knock' until the sun goes down?"

There was no answer.

Instead, the door creaked open slightly, revealing a little boy with lavender-white hair. His violet eyes were blank, but his eyebrows were arched in an arrogant, proud manner. His skin looked as white as his clothing, as if he hadn't spent a day out in the sun.

"I don't believe you are in any position to be asking questions," he said in a surprisingly sophisticated tone of voice.

Kagura blinked. This kid talked as if he owned the place.

"Now, let me ask you a question," the white-skinned boy continued, "Who are you? Why have you trespassed on our property? Or rather, how did you get here in the first place?"

"That's three questions," Kagura blurted.

"Answer them."

Kagura held out the yellow envelope.

"I found this while I was working at the post office," she said, "It's for Haku-san. Do you know him?"

The boy's eyebrows disappeared under his bangs.

"Know him?" he laughed humorlessly, "Perhaps. Come inside."

He opened the door and gestured for Kagura to enter. Not sure of his intentions, Kagura hesitated before slipping off her shoes and entering the house.

It was a very western style home with hardly anything Japanese about it. The white-skinned boy looked out of place with his white Japanese priest robes that hung loosely on his skinny shoulders. Out of place, and alone. Kagura hadn't seen or heard anyone else when she entered.

They entered what appeared to be a study. Stacks of books and files covered the white desk in front of the window; papers haphazardly tossed on the floor… which was also white. Whoever occupied this study had no sense of organization, something Kagura was thankful for.

_At least this Haku person is somewhat human._

However, the pale interior of the house contradicted her thoughts. This person was either obsessed with white or had an extremely plain personality.

The white-haired boy walked up to the desk and began to straighten out loose papers into a neat stack, paying no attention to the woman behind him. Kagura stood by the entrance of the study, not sure of what to do. The boy couldn't have been over eight or nine years old in appearance. So why then, by his movement and actions, did he appear to be an ancient ghost?

She was interrupted from her thoughts when the boy spoke sharply, "Come. Have a seat."

The boy was sitting behind the desk now, in a slouching position. He looked strange sitting there. A boy behind a desk, looking like a ghost, and yet much like a businessman.

He pointed to the chair across from him.

"Sit."

Kagura snorted, "I'm not a dog."

She yanked out the chair and haphazardly fell into it. It was well cushioned… and comfortable. Kagura leaned back into it.

The boy smirked, "True, but I can tell that you are just as stubborn."

An awkward silence followed. The boy observed the woman across from him, while Kagura sat there waiting for something to happen. She avoided looking into the boy's dark eyes, not wanting to find those blank orbs staring back. It was kind of scary… and really really weird.

Finally, the boy decided to break the silence.

"Let me see the letter."

Kagura handed it to him, and flinched when her fingers came in contact with his own. It was like ice. He was cold as a corpse. She suddenly felt scared and sick.

"I-I need you to give that to Haku-san," Kagura stuttered. When had it gotten so chilly?

The boy raised an eyebrow.

"Cold?"

Kagura shook her head.

"Hmph," the boy shrugged, then focused his attention back to the letter. He pulled it out of the envelope and sent Kagura with a chilling glare.

"So you got curious and decided to open it," he said coldly.

"_Because_ I opened it, I _decided_ to deliver it as an apology," Kagura protested, "So tell this _Haku-san_ that I apologize for invading his privacy."

The boy ignored her. Instead, his eyes were darting over the lines of the letter. A confused expressed crossed his stoic features as he gazed at the seal.

And then he did something unexpected.

He brought the paper to his face, and licked the blood.

Kagura sat still.

"Wha-What did you just-?"

He silenced her by holding up his hand. His eyes were closed and he looked like he was trying to remember something. Kagura didn't know what to think.

The boy opened his eyes and looked at Kagura.

"I didn't believe you at first," he said slowly, "because none of my letters come from the post office, nor were they ever delivered by some girl who suddenly shows up on my doorstep."

"**Your** letters? Are you saying that **you** are this Haku person?"

The boy stood up and smirked, "My full name is Hakudoushi. I am the master of this household."

"Wait. That can't be right, that's impossible," Kagura said, shaking her head, "This letter was written twenty years ago! You're just a kid!"

"A child?" Hakudoushi chuckled, "Believe me Kagura, if I were a mere child, I would hardly consider myself as your godfather.

* * *

End Chapter. Oooo... plot twist.Now I'm off to Canada. 


	5. Unbelievable

A/N: It's been a year. Sorry, I basically gave up on fanfiction a while ago, because I was more focused on art. However, I dropped a class because I wasn't getting enough sleep and now I have nothing to do except read Harry Potter for an hour everyday. It gets boring. And I_ hate_ it when I have a plot in my head but I don't finish it. Anyway's thank you for the reviews (kinda old, but cherished all the same). I'm eager to get this story moving again.

**Chapter 5**

**Unbelievable**

_"You're joking. I don't know you and I've never heard of you."_

_"Your father's blood is on the seal, Hitomi Kagura."_

_"You're a kid. I have no family. Make sense to you?" _

_"Kagura, do you even know what you are?"_

_Kagura frowned. "A very annoyed person." _

_Hakudoushi smiled chillingly._

_"You're a demon of course..."  
_

* * *

Kagura lay in bed, mulling over the little white-hued boy's words. 

Her encounter was, to put simply, astonishing. And exciting.

_Something different... something to look forward to actually._

Closing her eyes, she recounted the events on the day before.

* * *

Kagura sat in place bewildered. 

"What?" she breathed. "I don't think I really heard you there. This is silly, I thought you said 'demon.'"

"Indeed I did," said the white haired boy.

Kagura shook her head.

"This is stupid. I should probably go."

Kagura stood from her seat, shouldered her purse and left.

...Or at least, she tried to.

Upon reaching the boundaries of the cold study, the toe of her shoe hit a hard obstacle which she could not see until it rippled and colored pink at the place of impact. Wide-eyed and thoroughly freaked out, Kagura raised her hands in front of her and tried to push through, hoping she'd find air and that she hadn't gone insane.

Maybe her foot had hit a loose tile, she thought, and that the pain caused her to see spots. But she knew she was doubting herself, for she'd seen that the floorboards were flat and the tile perfect if not old. And when her hands met the surface of a wall she could not see, she _knew_.

Hakudoushi was grinning when Kagura turned to look at him.

"You can't leave unless I will it," he said.

"What did you do?" Kagura snapped.

Hakudoushi cocked his head and lifted one shoulder slightly, imitating a shrug.

"It is my power...because I am a demon as well..."

"...Just as you are, Hitomi Kagura."

Kagura breathed but couldn't. "Y-You're insane."

Hakudoushi searched her face, his lavender eyes skimming every feature of her being. Suddenly, Kagura felt like she had nothing to hide. Her secrets and her sins lay naked in front of him available for his scrunity.

"Tell me, has anything... peculiar happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Peculiar, as in... you know, something occuring in times of danger?"

Her eyes widened.

"Has something happened, Kagura? Something you did not intend and cannot explain?"

A vision of a boy's shredded face crossed Kagura's mind, leaking blood, rolling down his nasty cheeks and dripping on the grass... onto a piece of flesh that stared back at him.

This wasn't real. That barrier... it couldn't be. The boy, how could he claim to be her godfather? And this house, this asylum, this haunted mansion... could not be real. And Kagura was _human._.. she was _sure._

_Then... why are you having doubts?_

She wasn't. None of this made sense...

"Or rather, it makes perfect sense," Hakudoushi said finishing her trail of thought.

Kagura glared.

_It's like he reads my damn mind._

"I most definitely can," replied Hakudoushi. "It's interesting to see just exactly how you are handling this situation."

"Don't do that."

"Apologies," the boy said, not sorry at all.

What was there to say, really? Demons didn't exist, they came from stories. But stories also had some basis to them, right? Legends were inspired by something real. The barrier of the door was proof of something odd and supernatural. The boy as well. His appearance gave her chills, though his eyes held neither malice nor evil. He was wise beyonds his years.

And there was only one thing left to except.

She stared back at the boy in the chair.

Maybe two. She couldn't see this creepy little boy any other way, really.

"You're not going to ask me how I know you?" he finally spoke.

"No," she said, her thoughts clear. "Were'n't you using your mind trick?"

"Mind trick," he huffed. "I'm insulted by the way you've dismissed my natural abilities, but though... I've also have been told that was _your_ natural ability.

Kagura took a while to understand what he'd been implying, but it was his last comment that disturbed her the most.

"Told? Who?" she asked, her voice quavering. "Who told you?"

Hakudoushi's pale lavender eyes flashed mischeviously.

"Why, your father of course."

Kagura didn't like being shocked, but today, she recieved so many surprises she figured it was to make up for the years and years of boring routine and nothingness her life offered before this. But Kagura didn't want to trade her current life with anything new, nor would she ever want to go back to the life she led before freedom.

"Na...Naraku."

"Yes," said Hakudoushi. "He was also the one who made me your godfather."

Kagura ignored the pain in her heart. It felt tight and suffocating; like a hand reached into her chest and squeezed the living daylights out of her and she felt her cold turn cold and her breath grow shallow.

Kagura laughed, but it sounded more like a choke.

"Why... would he bother naming a toddler _my_ godfather?" she said. "That guy _wouldn't_ have bothered."

Hakudoushi sniffed. "I am hardly a toddler. In fact, I believe in the coming month I shall be five hundred and six."

Kagura's eyes bugged out. "Five hundred!"

Hakudoushi responded with a curt nod as he sifted through a drawer to light his cigarette. Kagura didn't need to tell anyone how weird it looked.

"You have _got_ to be shitting me."

Hakudoushi ignored her and held up an old and stained silve lighter triumphantly. It was shaped like a thin coffin with a delicately carved snake coild around it from the base to the head and lit an eerie green flame form the serpent's mouth.

He turned and then noticed Kagura staring at the green light.

"Dragon oil," he said with a puff of smoke, "Never runs out."

The smoke smelled nice too. "And fairy leaf," he added, reading her mind.

"Coffin nails," she replied with distaste, still staring at the lighter. "I hope you're not a worshipper of Satan."

"I don't believe in God," said Hakudoushi. "But perhaps there is a hell."

Kagura could not help but agree.

* * *

"This meeting only happened by mere coincedence," said Hakudoushi from the entrance. "I do, however, expect to hear from you again whenever possible." 

"Keeping tabs on me, are we?"

"As I have been," he replied, his answer surprising her. "Once again it is by coincedence that you have found that letter and sought me out."

Kagura nodded, adjusted her bag and turned to leave.

"Kagura, wait."

She turned, but Hakudoushi already left the entrance to go back in the house. Kagura waited.

A movement form above caught her eye. At first, she thought it was the wind parting the semi-transparent curtains from one of the windows, but as she turned to look up, she was staring at the face of a young girl with white hair and white skin. Kagura might have screamed, but somehow, she held it in. The curtain fell back, the face vanishing like a ghost while lifeless black eyes burned into Kagura's mind.

"Oh god," she breathed, holding her hand to her chest.

The creak and padding of bare feet made her jump, but it was only the sound of Hakudoushi.

He was holding something in his white hands, leveling her with an intense stare.

"Kanna," said Hakudoushi. "I see you've met her."

Kagura straightened herself. "A friend of yours?"

"My elder sister," he explained. "She's never left this house."

"Have you?"

Hakudoushi held out the object in his hand, choosing to ignore her question.

"Take it."

It appeared to be a long black fan, with a wooden frame that was thin at the handle, but wider at the end, making an elegant shape. Oriental knots and a long crimson tassle hung form the handle. It was obviously very expensive. Kagura took it from Hakudoushi, careful this time to avoid touching him.

She opened it with a flick of her wrist, revealing white and red silk. It was very expensive indeed.

"Thanks." She didn't refuse for she wasn't sure whether it would be rude to. Besides, she wanted it.

"Kazetsukai no Kagura," said Hakudoushi. "I've delved into your memories. I understand you are a wind elemental, correct?"

Kagura shrugged, not in the least bit happy to hear he'd just invaded her privacy. "I guess."

"I can't teach you how to use it, but it's quite simple," he said, sliding his hands back under his billowing sleeves. "You just direct your wind in a direction you choose. It should come naturally."

She nodded, closing the fan with a snap. The movement was quick and smooth.

"Naraku left it in my possession. In case we ever met."

Kagura, not sure if it was safe to keep the gift anymore, smirked and left. "Later."

* * *

This was hard to write. Kagura doesn't show that much emotion, after all. The most she ever expresses is irritation or anger. 

Chapter six: Kagura finds out a little about the people around her.

* * *


	6. Undiscovered

A/N: Okay, new chapter. I hope you liked the last one. And I thank you for the reviews. They are much appreciated.

I've been taking to writing this story in my notebook and this chapter's been in there for well over two weeks, but I was too lazy to type it up. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha doesn't belong to me, otherwise it might have ended some time ago I'm afraid.

* * *

**Chapter 6 **

**Undiscovered**

"You what?" Yura exclaimed in shock.

"I met with the reciever," repeated Kagura, repositioning another stolen stamp. "And I went through a lot of trouble getting it to him."

"So you met this guy. Was he, like, old and creepy or something?"

"If you judge by appearances, he was quite young. Had a fair face too," she admitted blandly.

Yura's eyes widened with interest.

"Was he cute? What was he like? How was his _hair_?"

Over the short period of their time together, Kagura had discovered her temporary co-worker had an unhealthy (and rather creepy) obsession with hair. Moreso in the case of the opposite sex.

Kagura carefully chose not to give too much information about her meeting and kept her description of her junior godfather as vague as possible, which was proving to be quite difficult with all the questions Yura was sure to be asking.

"Yura, you have this demonic crazy obsession with hair don't you?" she asked. "I'm pretty sure the matter of his hair isn't completely relevent."

Yura's eye twitched and she offered Kagura a red-lipstick grin. "Yup. But be warned, you cannot keep secrets from me."

Yura stood, deciding to take a break and walked over to pour herself a warm drink. Kagura idly fanned herself, even though the weather was a bit chilly.

She carried the fan with her everywhere, discovering that it conducted the wind like a baton wherever she willed it to blow. It was both and exciting and frightening at the same time. To discover she had such power was amazing, but to discover she also had the power to kill was a whole different story. With a flick of her wrist, she was now able to slice through the trunks of three large trees.

She felt powerful, but she also felt dangerous.

From across the room, Yura cursed as she dropped her sterophome cup on the floor, the last one left.

And with a flick of her middle finger, the cup jumped and landed in her outstretched hand. Kagura was astonished.

"Y-you're... what did you do?"

Yura squeaked and dropped the cup again.

"Ahahaha... whoops," she laughed pathetically. "You didn't see that did you?"

"Yura, are you...?"

"A demon? I take it you understand now?" Yura replied calmly.

Kagura stopped. "What are you talking about?"

"That you're a demon. Youkai," said Yura.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"It's pretty obvious. What with those eyes of yours, see?" Yura pulled out her mirror from her pocket and held it up for Kagura. "Too vivid to be any human shade. And your youki feels pretty powerful, yeah?"

"Yura, why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't know. That was obvious too. And you probably would have thought I was crazy. When I said I needed one of my kind around, you didn't react at all." She bent down and picked up her cup. "A lot of demons today don't even know what they are. Some don't even find out before they die."

"Wouldn't... wouldn't someone - like their parents - tell them about those kind of things?" asked Kagura.

Yura shrugged. "We're scared to. Most of us tell our kids, but there's a handleful of those that abandon their children 'cause they're too busy hiding or can't afford to take care of kids. It's really hard to keep our powers surpressed, you know? I guess some demons feel it would be safer if they didn't tell their kids at all."

Kagura sighed. "Well that explains it. My father left and I never had a family to fill me in on anthing."

Yura covered her mouth.

"Sorry. I don't have one either."

Kagura smiled. "It's okay. The father I had wasn't a father at all.

They walked back to their desks, deciding to take an extended break. There was much to talk about.

* * *

"I never knew my mother. I don't even know what she looked like since Naraku never kept any pictures," Kagura admitted as she began her story after much prodding and whining from Yura. 

"Naraku didn't act like a parent at all. I rarely saw him so I can't remember exactly what he looked like, only that he was young and dark and terrifying. I think I had a hard time sleeping. I couldn't, knowing that he might come home and stay in the room just next to mine."

Yura listened intently as Kagura continued.

"We lived in a big empty house. It was so dark. It had only three windows. He said he didn't want anything getting in, but I think what he really wanted was nothing getting out. I asked him about things but he only gave me vague answers since he could barely remember anything himself."

"Then one day he left and never came back."

Yura frowned. "Oh... what happened after that?"

"I stayed home and waited," continued Kagura, "There was no food so a lay in bed and drank water until I nearly starved. It must have been almost a week before anyone came by to get me. The man didn't say where my father went, but he did tell me that I couldn't stay there anymore. So he shipped me across the country to a boarding school and orphanage where I stayed for six years."

"One of my teachers took me in and... things started happening that I couldn't explain. My caretaker died in a subway accident after that."

"I'm sorry," said Yura.

Kagura snorted. "I'm not."

Yura shuffled her feet.

"I've lived by myself for a while, ever since I was small, but I got by because of my ability with hair."

Yura grinned and wiggled her slender fingers. "I'm an excellent theif."

She demonstrated to prove her point by plucking a pen from its container and sliding it down the path of her invisible string. Kagura found it amazing, feeling slightly envious that she didn't have stealthy powers to help her shop lift.

"Then I met Kouga on the street when I was stealing some earrings from a jewelry store. He said it was pretty cool but that I shouldn't be stealing. We talked after that and he got me a job here."

Kagura nodded. It was quite similar to how she met Kouga. She'd been drawing spirals in her notebook with her marker in art class when he approached her and commented about her eyes being unique. It was random, yes, but after a cup of hot choclate together, Kouga soon became her first friend.

When she told Yura this, Yura laughed in reply.

"I think Kouga has a thing of random acquaintances, yeah? I bet that's how he met Ayame, his fiance." She lowered her voice in a deeper tone, immitating Kouga. "'Hey, babe. Yer hot. Lets shack up and get married.'"

Kagura snorted. "Maybe, but he says it's just practice. He needed help to ask the girl he like out on a date for some time, but that was before they got engaged."

"I like his fiance," said Yura, "It's nice to know that there's someone to tie that wolf down."

Kagura was a bit surprised, for Yura used the same nickname she had chosen to give him.

"Kouga... I met him maybe two years ago," said Kagura. "I found it weird when he told me my eyes looked special. I thought he was hitting on me so I called him a loser and told him to get lost."

Yura laughed. "That was probably 'cause he thought you were a demon too."

"He's a demon then?" Kagura asked in shock.

"Of course! How else do you think he runs so fast?"

"That's true," agreed Kagura. Kouga was champion of the track team and was known for breaking all the school records without breaking a sweat.

"Us demons never really do much with our powers," said Yura. "It's best to surpress them or stay hidden. It's hard for the ones without human forms. If they're unlucky, they end up locked in zoos with keepers that wonder why they outlive all the staff members."

Kagura took all of this information in. It was clear she still had a lot to learn about herself, and of the ones around her.

* * *

It was cold when Kagura bid Yura farewell and headed home. The street lights were already on and the sun already set, early due to the winter season. 

A frozen flake of white landed on Kagura's cheek chilling her face. Kagura looked up. It had begun to snow, she realized with joy. The frosty wind made her shiver, but somehow, not matter what the condition, she could not bring herself to deny the pleasure she felt whenever the wind blew.

She walked on, a smile on her face, though she wished she brought along her gloves.

Sticking her hands in her pockets, she sniffed and fisted them beneath the fabric of her jeans to generate heat.

A shuffling before he caught her attention and she looked up to find a man approaching form around the corner. He also had his hands in his pockets, his head covered by the hood of his grey sweater beneath a black leather jacket.

He was apparently in a bad mood because when he approached a trash bin, he kicked it over, watching it fall with a loud thud and its contents spilling over onto the street. He continued on to vent his frustration on something else, when Kagura walked by. Kagura, who was intent on staring at the cement of the sidewalk as she passed, collided with his shoulder since he apparently didn't have the courtesy of moving out of the way for her to pass. Kagura was knocked back a few steps.

"Ow," she said, rubbing her shoulder.

"Watch where you're going," the man hissed, and proceeded on.

"Gaylord," Kagura muttered in reply.

The man stopped and turned around. He caught heard her muttered insult and it was obvious that he wasn't about to let it slide. Kagura wondered what she should do. She slipped her hand into her coat, feeling the end of her fan nervously.

The man's long hand reached out and grasped her shoulder so hard, the pressure of his fingertips felt as if claws were digging into her skin.

"_What_ did you call me, woman?" asked the man in a scathing tone.

Kagura turned around to throw off his hand, but he held fast. "Let. GO!"

Her red eyes glared at him and she grasped the arm hold her, trying to pry it off of her. The man's gaze locked with hers and Kagura found herself staring into a pair of amber-gold eyes.

The man gasped.

"Kagura?... You're... you're alive?"


End file.
